• Nigerian Government Orders MultiChoice To Maintain Current Subscription Rates Amid Investigation
On Thursday, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) directed MultiChoice Nigeria to maintain its current subscription prices pending the conclusion of an ongoing investigation into its proposed price hike.
This directive follows MultiChoice Nigeria’s request for an extension regarding its scheduled appearance before the Commission. The FCCPC said while it has granted the request, MultiChoice is now required to attend the rescheduled investigative hearing on March 6, 2025, with all relevant officers and a comprehensive response.
“Pursuant to this, MultiChoice is expressly instructed to maintain the existing price structure as of February 27, 2025, pending the Commission’s review and final determination on the matter,” the FCCPC stated.
The Commission, in a statement, signed by Director, Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, stressed that maintaining the current pricing is necessary to prevent any potential consumer harm during the investigation period.
“Maintaining the status quo on pricing is essential to prevent any potential consumer harm during this period,” the statement added.
The regulatory body had expressed concerns about possible market dominance abuse and anti-competitive practices.
“The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has summoned MultiChoice Nigeria to explain its proposed subscription price increase, which is scheduled to be implemented from March 1, 2025,” the Commission had stated.
Citing Sections 32 and 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), the FCCPC mandated MultiChoice Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer to appear for an investigative hearing at its headquarters on February 27, 2025.
The Commission raised concerns over recurrent unilateral price hikes, stating, “The FCCPC is deeply concerned that Nigerian consumers continue to face frequent price increases, amid accusations that MultiChoice applies different pricing strategies in other markets, raising questions about fairness and possible exploitation.”
It also warned that failure to provide a satisfactory explanation could lead to regulatory penalties.
“Should MultiChoice fail to provide satisfactory explanations or be found in violation of fair market principles, the FCCPC will be left with no option but to impose regulatory penalties, sanctions, or other corrective measures to protect Nigerian consumers,” the statement read.
Earlier, MultiChoice Nigeria had announced a new pricing structure for DStv and GOtv, citing increased operational costs.
The price adjustments, effective March 1, 2025, included DStv Premium at N44,500, Compact+ at N30,000, and GOtv Supa Plus at N16,800, among others.
For those following events, the hike has not been arbitrarily done, but as a result of ongoing economic challenges, as MultiChoice Nigeria had adjusted subscription prices to ensure sustainability and continued investment in quality entertainment. This is the impact of the economic realities in this industry.
The inflation rate in Nigeria in 2013 was 8.50 per cent but stood at 34.8.per cent in December 2024 and stands at 24.4 per cent as of January 2025. All industries have been affected by the inflation rate, FX volatility and other macroeconomic factors leading to an adjustment in cost owing to these issues: From petrol to foodstuff, etc. All industries have been forced to adjust their processes to survive.
The inflationary pressures have led to price adjustments across various sectors, including agriculture, beverages, and services. Companies such as Nigerian Breweries Plc and Netflix have adjusted prices multiple times in 2024 to cope with rising costs.
The volatility of the naira, inflation, rising energy costs, content licensing and acquisition costs, operational costs and more have significantly impacted the entertainment industry in Nigeria, threatening its sustainability and growth.
The volatility of the Naira and rising operational costs have impacted the entertainment industry, making it increasingly difficult to maintain pricing.
Beyond delivering quality entertainment, MultiChoice has been instrumental in the growth of Nigeria’s creative industry, providing platforms that amplify voices, empower talents, and give Nigerian stories a vast stage. Through investments in content, skills development, and initiatives like the MultiChoice Talent Factory, Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs) and more, the brand has played a key role in shaping careers and driving industry growth.
In 2020, the company commissioned Accenture, a top accounting and consulting firm in Nigeria to measure the socio-economic impact of its business in Nigeria between 2015 and 2019. According to the report, MultiChoice Nigeria had contributed an estimated US$2.1bn to the Nigerian economy within the period under review.
Accenture estimated that the company had specifically spent over $428 million in developing local creative talent, as a result of sourcing and producing local content for DStv, GOtv, M-Net, SuperSport, and Africa Magic, and investing in building local production infrastructure.
This investment has greatly helped to support the Nigerian movie industry, ensuring that Nollywood movies are available across Africa and the rest of the world. MultiChoice has been the biggest supporter of Nollywood and local storytelling, funding productions, providing platforms for actors and creatives, and empowering talent across the industry.
Through their business operations, investments in technology, local infrastructure, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives and local partnerships, MultiChoice Nigeria has enriched an estimated two million lives each year through initiatives such as MultiChoice Resource Centres, MultiChoice Talent Factory, GOtv Boxing, Sickle Cell Foundation, the Let’s Play initiative, among others.
This adjustment ensures that MultiChoice can continue to support creators, producers, and the broader entertainment ecosystem while maintaining the standards audiences expect.
This has also led to the other brands like Prime Video and Netflix stopping their commissioning of local content and also leaving the country.
The cost of acquiring international and local content, as well as maintaining broadcast operations, is heavily influenced by currency instability, making it increasingly difficult to sustain pricing. Industries across the economy have adjusted their prices to survive the hard realities of macroeconomics.
According to experts, owing to the losses in revenue and other economic factors, companies like
MultiChoice needs to adjust their prices or they will go out of business. This price adjustment remains lower than price changes in many other sectors and is necessary to maintain service quality and content availability.
To ease the impact and beat the price adjustment, MultiChoice offers mitigation measures like the continuation of its Price Lock feature and Step Up offer, ensuring subscribers can continue enjoying premium entertainment at competitive rates.
Already, the Federal Government has said it is considering plans to regularise the electricity tariffs to address disparities in the current billing system for customers outside the Band A category. The proposed hike seeks to align tariffs for customers in the Band B and C categories with the N206/kW rate paid by Band A customers, who make up approximately 15 per cent of the total 12.82 million power consumers nationwide.
However, this plan by government has been opposed by power consumers and members of the Organised Private Sector, who wonder why the government had continued to hike the cost of commodities in various sectors of the economy.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, made this known at the public presentation of the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Nigeria Integrated Resource Plan on Thursday in Abuja.
The latest development comes weeks after the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Olu Verheijen, had hinted that the current power tariffs would rise by about two-thirds.
To sustain its investment in content, technology, and talent development, MultiChoice must adjust subscription prices while still offering competitive value (DStv and GOtv subscriptions in Nigeria are among the lowest across Africa).
Others in the industry like Netflix’s and Prime Video have significantly reduced investments and MTV Shuga’s reduced investments and MTV Shuga’s departure (which paid actors in USD) highlights the challenges of sustaining entertainment businesses in Nigeria.
Between April and September 2024, MultiChoice Nigeria lost 243,000 subscribers owing to inflation and currency devaluation straining household budgets.
